Good morning, it’s Air Bargnani’s turn to fly (or not)

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

FLIGHT 77: Need another play that encapsulates the Knicks’ hideous season? Let us give you this: Andrea Bargnani launching himself at the rim only to crash to the floor, get called for a charge and get hit by the ball bouncing back at him off the stanchion. And because we love you, we’ll also set the play from various angles to R. Kelly’s “I Believe I Can Fly.”

Carmelo Anthony, this is your season.

The Knicks, by the way, lost to the Sixers at home. They are now 15-27.

ALL-STAR ANGST THURSDAY: The league will announce the All-Star starters on Thursday; there should be no surprises. But immediately after the announcement you can turn to Twitter to see lots of people complain about fan voting and the horrific presence of members of losing teams in the starting fives. An annual tradition like no other.

NIGHT OF SHAME: New York didn’t have the league’s only horrid loss on Wednesday. The Cavaliers got smoked by the Bulls. (Chicago is horrible at tanking. Cleveland is terrible at winning. Can we get Luol Deng traded back to the Bulls?)

The Wizards gave up 39 to Jeff Green and an overtime game-winner to Gerald Wallace to fall back below .500. And the Clippers, still missing Chris Paul, got beat by the Bobcats.

But perhaps the most embarrassing loss of all? The Pistons lost to the Milwaukee Bucks. It was the Bucks’ first win of 2014. Good job, Pistons.

AND NOW, GOOD BASKETBALL TEAMS: Kevin Durant continued his scoring barrage (36) as the Thunder beat the Spurs in San Antonio. Referee Mike Callahan, however, stole the show by ... riding Derek Fisher as if Derek Fisher were a Shetland pony? Yes.

The Suns throttled the Pacers 124-100 in a darn good nightcap.

INJURY PARTY: Kawhi Leonard fractured a finger. DeMarcus Cousins and Rudy Gay left the locker room in walking boots.

MOCK DRAFT SIREN: Chad Ford released his second mock of the season. And yes, Joel Embiid is on top.

THE GREATEST JOB IN THE WORLD: The New York Times’ story on how the Knicks decide who gets to sit on Celebrity Row is pretty fantastic: “On game nights, the team also has to contend with such tricky questions as, is Katie Holmes more important than Liam Neeson?”

OLYMPIC POOL: USA Basketball today will officially announce the 28 players who have made the pool for the 2016 Olympic cycle, which begins this summer at the World Cup in Spain. That list leaked on Thursday. DeMarcus Cousins, Andre Drummond and Klay Thompson are among the names.

BEST OF THE WORST: Who is the third-best team in the East? Mike Prada investigates.

HOW SHOOTING FOULS GET DRAWN: Kirk Goldsberry maps it out.

HOW THE BULLS ARE WINNING: Joakim Noah is playing the best basketball of his career, writes Ricky O’Donnell.

HOW THE PACERS CAN KEEP LANCE: Kevin Pelton looks at Lance Stephenson’s numbers and finds out how likely it is that Indiana can afford to keep him in free agency.

STAY TUNED: Later this morning we’ll be publishing my long look at David Stern’s reign as commissioner. You’ll be able to find it on SBNation.com/NBA.

Happy Thursday. See you next time.

• Ziller: The 30 biggest moments of David Stern’s career

• NBA newsletter: It’s Air Bargnani’s turn to fly

• Drive & Kick podcast: Grizzlies get back on their Grit ‘N Grind

• Predicting NBA All-Star rosters | USA Basketball reveals player pool

• Prada: Who is the No. 3 team in the East?